Silicon Valley ‘boys’ club’ trumps woman seeking gender equality

Silicon Valley ‘boys’ club’ trumps woman seeking gender equality

The verdict for the Ellen Pao case is announced - the jury sides with Kleiner on every count

The results of the trial that rocked the tech world are in: venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers has been cleared of all gender discrimination charges.

Ellen Pao sued Kleiner in 2012, claiming she was not promoted because she was a woman, whereas the careers of her male co-workers were unhindered. She was fired five months after filing the lawsuit therefore she added the claim of wrongful termination to her suit.

The jury of six men and six women sided with the firm for all four of Pao’s claims.

“We were focused on the [job] performance,” said juror Steve Sammut.

Throughout the trial, Kleiner had made the case that Pao did not advance because she was difficult to work with and lacked the skills necessary to be an investor.

For her part, Pao effectively portrayed Kleiner has a ‘boys’ club’ with business associates talking about porn and Playboy models on business trips. One male partner even attempted to force his way into a female colleague’s hotel room.

Many hope that, even though Pao failed to win the lawsuit, her case will have brought to light not only the inequalities in the tech industry but also the sordid lives of the venture capitalists that support it.

“Ellen Pao’s loss is anything but a win for Silicon Valley’s status quo. The challenges she raised about the male-dominated culture that controls the heart of the innovation economy can’t be dismissed,” said an editorial in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Others, however, are a bit more cynical in what they see to be the long-term effects of the trial.

“I don’t think that this will encourage Kleiner to focus on hiring more women, but I bet there will be more of a care not just around documentation but also about culture fit when hiring into the company,” said Jason Hanold, chief executive of Hanold Associates and an expert on Human Resource issues.

In an interview after the verdict was announced, Pao seemed to be looking on the bright side of things.

“I have told my story and thousands of people have heard it,” said Pao.”If I helped to level the playing field for women and minorities in venture capital then the battle was worth it.”

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